The Darkest Einherjar
by deijireinfield
Summary: A new recruit to Odin's army, a man known only as Ash is faced with the task of recovering all of the Head God's artifacts that have fallen to Earth. The only problem now is to deal with a wizard who will do anything to become a god...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N**: Hi! Sadly, I have no beta at the moment so this story might suck. In fact, I'm not sure I'll ever get a beta reader so please judge accordingly. In the meantime, the main character of the story is named Ash, who is a new Dark Warrior! (I forgot the other term that they use in the game. Forgive me!) And now, enjoy the show!

-Deiji

"Oh Valkryie. Please, save my brother." A young girl was praying in the moonlight of the window of her country home. Her brother was lying a bed nearby, stricken with illness. He was breathing heavily, holding true to the predictions of the town doctor that he would not live through the night. He had been travelling about the world in the name of the the King of Artolia, searching for treasures and spying on an enemy country when he was brought back by the King's men after he passed out during an audience. The girl, his sister, hoped that he could at least make it into heaven, where he deserved to be for serving his homeland during a time of war, and continued to pray. It wasn't long before life left the young man's body.

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"Do you wish to open your eyes, Dark Warrior? Or are you that ungrateful," a forceful tone declared. A young man, wearing the clothes that he had before he contracted the disease, stood in front of the Death Goddess herself. Finding himself unable to resist her tone, he opened his eyes to reveal the light-blue pupils within. "Are you the Death Goddess," he asked of her. "That I am. Are you not pleased to be amongst the chosen," she questioned. The man looked about him, only to find that he had returned to the void upon his death. "No, I am very honored that you have chosen me. I guess Amila's prayers worked after all...," he said in a sad tone of voice. "Perhaps. Regardless of that, the God Almighty Odin has chosen you. For that, you should be overjoyed." He chuckled to himself at that comment. If he had the choice, he would have rather given his place to a soldier in the army. But turning down the offer in the face of the Valkryie herself would just make things worse. "Yeah, I'm OK with it. Working for Odin will pass the time." The Valkryie's composure was unchanging throughout the entire conversation.

"So then it is decided. What is your name, Dark Warrior," she decided.

"My name? It's Ash." With those words spoken, he vanished into thin air.

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They reappeared in a field of white flowers close to a very large castle. Ash watched as the howling summer wind picked up stray petals and pulled them into the gray sky. He looked over to see the that the Valkryie had vanished, leaving him isolated. "Now go, Dark Warrior. The Lord Odin and the Goddess Freya would like to have word with you," the familiar stern voice rang in his head. Ash sighed heavily as he noticed a long, white brick path heading in the direction of the castle. He uttered things to himself concerning his past life as he treaded along the path. He pondered over the condition of his younger sister, who was now left in the care of his mother and father, and that of the wellbeing of Artolia. Even if he really did not like the job of being a government spy, he did enjoy protecting those that he loved. Especially since that Artolia was on the losing side of the war with Villnore. He learned from a long time ago that he would do anything to protect those that he loved, even if it meant dying. He laughed to himself a bit when he finally realized this. He kept up this pattern of thought as he continued to walk along the path, noticing that this world was without animals or any other sign of wildlife other than the white flowers. "Where are the ponds, lakes, or any other body of water," Ash asked of himself. He figured that he would inquire about it once he met with Odin and Freya, whom he believed to be beyond the oversized, articulate golden doors that he stood in front of now. Letting out another deep sigh, he pushed the doors only to be greeted by yet another bright light, blinding him almost instantly.

"Hello there, Dark Warrior, and welcome to Valhalla," a great masculine voice declared. Ash knew that without a doubt that this was the voice of Odin himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks for reading the first chapter! Your feedback helps me in making this a better story! So please, continue to read and leave me messages! They inspire me so much...

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**Chapter 2**

"Will you not address the Lord Odin," a female voice asked. The bright light faded, and Ash could make out the figures of a large man lounging in a golden chair, and of a blonde woman clad in a lively green floating nearby him. Realizing his position and who the people were, he bowed his head close to the floor and said, "I am very sorry, my lords. Please forgive my insolence." The large man, Odin himself, moved forward in his throne to look at the young man groveling on the ground. Amused, the big man chuckled, shaking the halls of his spacious castle as he did so. "Rise, Dark Warrior. You have earned your place here in the halls of Valhalla. Now state your name."

"My name is Ash of Artolia, my lord."

"My my, the Valkyrie chose one that is very well-spoken. And what have you been using as a weapon all this time, young human," the female, obviously the Goddess Freya, interjected. Ash searched around his waist in search of the whip that the King had bestowed upon him when he first assigned the task of being a spy. He found it within one of the large pouches hanging on his belt. "This is what I have been using, my lord." The goddess teleported in front of Ash, observing the whip to a very fine detail. She giggled, covering her mouth when she finished moments later. "Even for a human construct, this weapon will hardly be useful in the battles to come. However, it is the Valkyrie's decision as to what to do about your armaments." She teleported back to the side of the Lord Odin, whom was now smiling at the interaction between the woman and human. "If you don't mind my intrusion, may I ask as to what I am doing in the presence of His Majesty," Ash asked as he put his whip back in its respective satchel.

The large god put a hand under his chin and tilted his head as he reclined more into his throne. "Freya, would be kind enough to explain the situation at hand," he demanded kindly. Nodding in agreement, Freya began to talk about what was going on. "As you may know, we are currently at war with another god known as Loki. Lord Odin believes that one of the ways that we can defeat him without expending all the resources of Valhalla is through some of his artifacts. But many of them have fallen into the human world. We were planning to have the Valkyrie retrieve them, but we need her to recruit more souls for the battle at the end of the world. To make matters worse, a human by the name of Lezard Valeth has been taking the sacred artifacts, using them in experiments that he claim will make him a god. Your job is to get the artifacts back, and to punish Lezard accordingly."

"Ah, I see." Ash raised a hand to his chin, much in the manner of his god. It seemed natural that the gods would want someone with experience in the world of espionage to perform an assassination mission. Because of the disease he once had, he wasn't able to go through with his duties as he had liked to at the time. Now it seemed like he was given another opportunity at the work that he aspired to do since he was a little boy. "I thank you, my lords, for giving me this wonderful chance. I shall not fail you." Freya smiled as Odin worked up a big grin. "I have no doubt that you shall succeed, Dark Warrior," Odin complimented, "now I believe it is time for you to meet with the Valkyrie. She's waiting for you outside of the castle doors. Once you get an upgrade on your weapons, you will begin with your mission."

"Thank you, my lord. I will not fail you."

And with that Ash turned around and went through the double doors, leaving the gods to talk over other matters in private. How ironic, he thought, that seconds after his death that he would be performing the same type of work that he did before he got sick. "Asgard must be in some real trouble," he believed as he spotted the armor-clad Valkyrie upon a hill. She looked at him sternly as she yelled "hurry, Dark Warrior. Time is one thing none of us have." With that command Ash picked up the pace to stand in front of the Death Goddess, only to have a silver bracer pushed onto his torso in a forceful manner. "This is an artifact from the Goddess Freya herself. She commanded that I pick this up ahead of time. Use it well, Dark Warrior." Ash looked at the shiny trinket oddly, trying to send body signals to the Valkyrie that he didn't know what it was. She, on the other hand, just stared at him blankly. "So, what does it do," he asked finally. Instead of answering him, she put one hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, Ash had vanished. "We are counting upon you, Dark Warrior..." were the words the Valkyrie muttered as she entered Valhalla.


End file.
